Royal Fort
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| H H Wills Physics Laboratory | |
| Building information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Bristol |
| Country | England |
| Architect | James Bridges |
| Client | Thomas Tyndall |
| Engineer | Thomas Paty |
| Construction Start Date | 1758 |
| Completion Date | 1761 |
| Style | Baroque, Palladian and Rococo |
The Royal Fort (grid reference ST580734) is a historic house in Tyndalls Park, Bristol.
The house (not pictured) was constructed on the site of a Civil War fortification, which had two bastions on the inside of the lines and three on the outside. It was the strongest part of the defences of Bristol, with the Royalists retreating to the fort when the Parliamentarians had broken through the lines in the siege of 1645.[1] The fort was demolished around 1650. The "Royal" in the name was in honour of Prince Rupert of the Rhine when he was made Governor of Bristol.[2]
The design of the house by James Bridges, for Thomas Tyndall, was a compromise between the separate designs of architects Thomas Paty, John Wallis and himself. This led to different classical styles: Baroque, Palladian and Rococo, for three of the facades of the house.[3] It was built between 1758 and 1761, by Thomas Paty with plasterwork by Thomas Stocking.
A later Tyndall generation, in the early 18th century, employed Humphry Repton to landscape the gardens which form a small part of Tyndall’s Park. Over the years large parts of the park were sold for housing development and as the site for the Bristol Grammar School, and only a small part of the original acreage remains.
The current gatehouse, built in the Victorian era and known as the Royal Fort Lodge, stands at the entrance to the driveway leading to Royal Fort House on the site of a much earlier structure.
The house has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building.[4]
It is now owned by the University of Bristol, who were given the estate as a gift by Herbert Henry Wills[5] of the Bristol tobacco company W.D. & H.O. Wills, and is used for dinners, receptions and presentations.
[edit] References
- ^ Bristol. Fortified Places. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
- ^ Royal Fort House. University of Bristol Conference Office. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
- ^ Royal Fort House. University of Bristol. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
- ^ Royal Fort and attached front step railings. Images of England. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
- ^ Herbert Henry Wills Physics laboratory. University of Bristol. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
